Reds 2015 Dynasty

[RedsFan77]

I have decided to start over and do a 2015 Reds dynasty. I will try and stick with this dynasty. I will update you guys about my progress after each trade, after I sign a free agent, at the all-star break, and at the end of the season. Our roster is:

Starters:
1. Johnny Cueto (I might trade him due to him being not willing to resign and I would rather not lose him to free agency)
2. Mike Leake (I will try to re sign him)
3. Anthony DeSclafani
4. Raisel Iglesias
5. Tony Cingrani

Middle Relievers:
1. Manny Parra
2. JJ Hoover
3. Ryan Dennick
4. Kevin Gregg

Setup:
1. Jumbo Diaz
2. Burke Badenhop

Closer:
1. Aroldis Chapman

Lineup vs. RHP/LHP
1. Billy Hamilton
2. Brandon Phillips
3. Joey Votto
4. Jay Bruce
5. Devin Mesoraco
6. Todd Frazier
7. Marlon Byrd
8. Zack Cozart
9. Pitcher

Lineup vs RHP/LHP w/DH
1. Billy Hamilton
2. Brandon Phillips
3. Joey Votto
4. Jay Bruce
5. Devin Mesoraco
6. Todd Frazier
7. Marlon Byrd
8. Skip Schumaker/Yorman Rodriguez
9. Zack Cozart

[RedsFan77]

I added a 1-year, ~10 million dollar contract extension to Mike Leake. He is my second best pitcher and, in 6 games this season, he has a 2.31 ERa.

[RedsFan77]

I traded 3B Alex Blandino .5/3, SP Tejay Antone .5/1.5, and SP Jon Moscot .5/2, and CF Sebastian Elizalde 1/1 for 3B Tyler Humphreys 1/3, SP Jeremy Hellickson 1.5/1.5, and LF Nick Buss 1/1. This move was because I needed some more depth for pitching and Moscot and Antone are not ready to be in the MLB. We are 26-32, which puts us 5.5 games back in the Central Division and the Wild Card race.

[Texasborn]

Thanks I will follow this series hope it pans out

[RedsFan77]

I decided to trade SP Johnny Cueto 4/4, 3B Gavin LaValley .5/2.5, and SS Aristides Sanchez .5/1 for CF Brian Goodwin 1/4, SP Jefry Rodriguez .5/3, and 1B Jose Marmolejos-Diaz 1/1. This move was made since I was going to lose Jonny Cueto to free agency so I decided to just get some prospects instead.

[RedsFan77]

Originally Posted by Texasborn

Thanks I will follow this series hope it pans out

Np. Hope yours pans out as well.

[RedsFan77]

At the all-star break my team is 45-44, which puts us 6.5 games back in the Central Division and in a 3-way tie for first place in the NL Wild Card race. Both Joey Votto (.305, 14 HR, 48 RBI) and Brandon Phillips (.290, 13 HR, 39 RBI) are all-stars. Todd Frazier has hit 20 homeruns and 62 RBIs, Billy Hamilton has stolen 55 bases (most in MLB) and Joey Votto has a .450 OBP (most in MLB). Most of my starting pitchers have done pretty good, besides Raisel Iglesias (6-5, 5.67). Matt Magill (4-0, 2.30) been a pleasant surprise since he filled in the gap that was left once Cueto was traded. LF Jesse Winker has a .302 batting average and 8 homeruns in 24 games. The A's (56-35), the Cardinals (52-38), the Nationals (52-36), and the Dodgers (55-35) are having great seasons while the Texas Rangers (37-51), the Twins (37-52), and the Braves (37-52) are having awful seasons.

[RedsFan77]

We finished the season 80-82, which put us 11 games back (3rd place) in the Central Division and 6 games behind the Marlins in the Wild Card race. We started not doing so well and the Marlins and Diamondbacks just completely took over near the end of the season. Joey Votto (.305, 23 HR, 80 RBI) and Jesse Winker (.292, 13 HR, 44 RBI) had very solid seasons. Billy Hamilton had 95 stolen bases (most in the MLB). Joey Votto finished with the best OBP (.448). Mike Leake (16-11, 3.45) and Matt Magill (10-4, 3.81) had pretty solid stats while Raisel Iglesias (12-12, 4.86), Homer Bailey (10-12, 4.28), and Anthony DeSclafani (10-18, 4.00) didn't do so well.

[RedsFan77]

Zack Cozart and Jay Bruce both won the Gold Glove Award. The Kansas City Royals won the World Series. Manny Parra, Sean Marshall, and Brayan Pena all became free agents. I lost Brayan Pena and Sean Marshall to free agency but I signed Manny Parra (2 years, 4.4 million per year) and MR Tommy Hunter (3 years, 3.4 million per year). I decided to trade LF Marlon Byrd 1/1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for RF Jose Tabata 1/1. That move was made because they are very similar besides the fact that Tabata is way younger. I also traded MR J.J. Hoover 2/2, LF Kyle M. Wardrop 1/1.5, and 3B Tyler Humphreys 1/2.5 to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for SP Chris Tillman 2/2, MR Brian Gonzalez .5/2, and 1.3 million dollars in cash. This move was made because I needed more pitching and J.J. Hoover has been awful the past couple of seasons. I also traded MR Ryan Dennick 1/1, C Chad Wallach 1/1, and SS Kris Negron 1/1 in exchange for RF Brandon Guyer 1.5/1.5. This move mad made because I need more depth in the outfield and because the guys I traded never would've been good MLB players. Lastly, I traded C Tucker Barnhart 1/2, SP Nick Howard .5/3, MR Brian Gonzalez .5/2 to the Brewers in exchange for LF Khris Davis 1.5/1.5, MR Taylor Williams .5/3, and MR Jorge Ortega .5/.5. This deal was made because it gives me Khris Davis, who is already MLB-Ready, and a player with potential.

[RedsFan77]

I am going to start playing every game and posting an update every two weeks. Here is my opening day roster:

Starters:
1. Matt Magill (his overall rating has gon from 2 to 3 and he is now my best starting pitcher)
2. Raisel Iglesias
3. Robert Stephenson (He is only 23 and 2.5 star overall and 4.5 star potential)
4. Homer Bailey
5. Mike Leake

Middle Relief:
1. Manny Parra
2. Chris Tillman (Was going to be my fifth starter until Robert Stephenson improved.
3. Tony Cingrani
4. Anthony DeSclafani

Setup:
1. Jumbo Diaz
2. Tommy Hunter

Closer:
1. Aroldis Chapman

Lineup Vs. RHP
1. Billy Hamilton
2. Eugenio Suarez
3. Joey Votto
4. Jesse Winker
5. Devin Mesoraco
6. Jay Bruce
7. Todd Frazier
8. Brian Goodwin
9. Pitcher

Lineup Vs. LHP
1. Billy Hamilton
2. Brandon Guyer
3. Joey Votto
4. Devin Mesoraco
5. Khris Davis
6. Todd Frazier
7. Eugenio Suarez
8. Zack Cozart
9. Pitcher

Lineup Vs. RHP w/DH
1. Billy Hamilton
2. Brandon Guyer (DH)
3. Joey Votto
4. Jesse Winker
5. Devin Mesoraco
6. Jay Bruce
7. Todd Frazier
8. Eugenio Suarez
9. Brian Goodwin

Lineup Vs. LHP w/DH
1. Billy Hamilton
2. Brandon Guyer (DH)
3. Joey Votto
4. Devin Mesoraco
5. Khris Davis
6. Jay Bruce
7. Todd Frazier
8. Eugenio Suarez
9. Zack Cozart

[RedsFan77]

After every two weeks I will talk about the games, league news, team news, thoughts/concerns about my team,!and I will decide who our player of each week was.

First week:
3 game series against the Pirates-
(L 4-12) WP: Gerritt Cole (1-0) LP: Matt Magill (0-1)
(L 6-7) WP: John Holdzkom (1-0) LP: Tony Cingrani (0-1) SV: Mark Melancon (1)
(L 3-8) WP: V. Worley (1-0) LP: Robert Stephenson (0-1)
We had an awful series, with our pitching doing way worse than I expected

3 game series against the Cubs-
(W 5-4) WP: Tony Cingrani (1-1) LP: P. Strop (0-2)
(W 4-2) WP: Mike Leake (1-0) LP: Jon Lester (1-1) SV: Anthony DeSclafani (1) Jon Lester partially tore his labrum and is now out for 4 months.
(L 7-13) WP: K. Hendricks (1-0) LP: Matt Magill (0-2)

Player of the Week: Our player of the week was definitely Billy Hamilton, considering he won the NL player of the week award. He batted .500 with 1 home run and 5 RBIs, as well as getting 5 SBs without getting caught stealing.

League News:
Alexei Ramirez won the AL player of the week, hitting .500 with 0 home runs and 6 RBIs.
The Orioles re signed MR Shawn Kelley to a 2 year, 4.7 million per year contract.

Second Week:
3 games series against the Brewers-
(W 9-5) WP: Aroldis Chapman (1-0) LP: E. Marshall (0-1)
(L 5-4) WP: W. Smith (1-0) LP: Manny Parra (0-1)
(W 8-2) WP: Homer Bailey (1-0) LP: M. Minor (0-1)

3 game series against the Cubs-
(W 7-5) WP: Tony Cingrani (2-1) LP: N. Ramirez (0-1)
(L 6-8) WP: J. Grimm (1-0) LP: Manny Parra (0-2) SV: P. Strop (4)
(L 2-4) WP: J. Arrieta (3-0) LP: Raisel Iglesias (0-1) SV: J. Motte (1)

Player of the Week: This was a hard choice but I think Jesse Winker deserves this the most. He batted .464 while hitting 1 home run and knocking in 5 RBIs.

League News:
Brewer's Scooter Gennet won the NL Player of the Week award, hitting .400 with 3 home runs, 6 RBIs, and 8 runs scored.
Indian's Brandon Moss won the AL Player of the Week award, hitting .375 with 3 home runs, 7 RBIs, and 7 runs scored.
Giants MR Yusmweiro Petit sprained his ankle and is out 1-2 weeks.

My Thoughts/Concerns:
Matt Magill (0-2, 10.12) and Raisel Iglesias (0-1, 5.21) have not done very good, which can surprises me since I consider them my two best pitchers. My other three starting pitchers have ERAs under 3.00.
Jay Bruce has only hit .158 (6 hits) and has hit two home runs. If he could just start getting more hits he could be one of the best power hitters in the league.
Billy Hamilton has been a pleasant surprise, hitting .377 and having 10 stolen bases while being caught 3 times.

Standings:
We are 5-7, which puts us 2 games back (Last place) in the Central Division and the NL Wild Card race.

[RedsFan77]

So, a little bit of a change in my plans. Instead of updating every two weeks I will probably just use the same format that I used last season.

[RedsFan77]

I decided to trade SP Matt Magill 3/3, RF Yorman Rodriguez 2/2, and CL Nick Travieso .5/2.5 in exchange for SP Mike Foltynewicz 2.5/2.5, MR Juan Jaime 1/2.5, and RF Jordan Paroubeck 1/1.5. This trade was made because it replaces Magill with Foltynewicz, who both have similar ratings, but Foltynewicz has better stats. It also replaces Travieso, who has 2.5 potential but only .5 overall, with Juan Jaime who is a lot like Travieso besides the fact that Juan has better overall ratings.

[RedsFan77]

I signed Jesse Winker 4/4 to a 2 year, 7.5 million per year contract extension. He is having a great season and is likely to be a great star one day. We are 14-12 which puts us 2 games back (3rd place) in the Central Division and 1.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race.

[RedsFan77]

I also signed Mike Leake (3-0, 2.75) to a 4 year, 11.5 million dollars per year contract extension.

[RedsFan77]

With my first pick I selected MR Chris Burns .5/5 who is only 17. With my second pick I selected 2B Salvador Gutiérrez .5/4 who is 19. The rest of my picks were guys who had 1-3 stars of potential and no more than 1 star overall.

[RedsFan77]

I decided to trade 22 year old SP Jefry Rodriguez .5/2.5 and MR Mark Armstrong .5/.5 in exchange for 25 year old MR R.J. Alvarez 4/4.5 and 19 year old C Brad Jackson .5/1. This move gives me a middle reliever who is already good in exchange for a pitcher who may turn out to be good.

[RedsFan77]

I decided to sign LF Gerardo Parra to a 1 year, 950k dollar contract. We needed more depth in this position and in going to see if he can help in that regard. We are 40-46 which puts us 10.5 games back in the Central Division and 7.5 games back in the Wild Card race. Both Billy Hamilton and Raisel Iglesias are on the disabled list.

[RedsFan77]

We are 42-47, which puts us 11.5 games back in the Central Division (5th) and 7.5 games back in the wild card race. We have no all-stars, even though Jesse Winker (.322, 10 HR, 50 RBI), Billy Hamilton (.309, 4 HR, 20 RBI), MR Jumbo Diaz (3-1, 1.14, 39.1 IP), and SP Anthony DeScalafani (5-0, 1.49) have had great seasons. CF Brian Goodwin (.228, 4 HR, 21 RBI) has been awful but has potential. Our ERA (3.98) is better than we had last year but we are still having a bad season.

[RedsFan77]

We finished the season 73-89 which puts us 24 games back in the Central Division (5th place) and 14 games back in the NL Wild Card race. At one point near the end of the season we were 6.5 games back in the Wild Card race but we started doing awful near the end of the season. Jesse Winker (.301, 17 HR, 82 RBI) and Billy Hamilton (.301, 8 HR, 32 RBI) had solid seasons. Anthony DeSclafani (7-9, 3.43), Tony Cingrani (7-3, 3.71), and Robert Stephenson (12-10, 3.86) had pretty solid seasons while Chris Tillman (10-11, 4.44) and Mike Leake (8-12 4.73) did not. Our ERA (4.20) is not as good as we hoped it would be. Billy Hamilton had the most stolen bases (70) and the second most triples (9) even though he only played 123 games due to injuries. Joey Votto had the most walks (123) in the MLB while Robert Stephenson had the fourth most K/9 (8.79) and the fifth most strikeouts (202) in the NL.